Something has been troubling me. I was with a
family member the day they passed. Death was
imminent. When awake the person was able to hear but
not move or speak. We know the person could hear
because when told to blink eyes in response they
did. The day they passed the person was sleeping and
breathing became labored. The nurse came in and
gave morphine. She said for comfort. Immediately
after being given the morphine the person died. I
now wonder if the dose of morphine hastened their
death and if this was appropriate treatment. Any
thoughts?

Answer by Judie Brown on 8/13/2018:

Dear Troubled,

Not having been there we can only say that based on what you are saying, the nurse clearly
thought the labored breathing was painful to the dying person, because that sort of breathing is
painful. So what she did was not inappropriate.